Adios

We are docked at St. Helens in the Columbia River,  about twenty miles downriver from Portland, and poised to slip the lines and head downriver in the morning.  We have a distant view of Mt. Hood at dusk, which we are using to say adios to Portland and our past eighteen months "at home".  This is an embarrassment of riches: we have reveled in living in Portland, close to family, friends, and the riches of a city life. Especially wonderful has been the spaces and opportunities to work - studio space for the mate, and a part-time return to the medical community for the Captain.

And now we can return to an itinerant life on the boat. It's irresistible, although not entirely easy. We have spent most of the last month arranging, packing, and placing in storage most of our possessions. Tonight it is all accomplished, and we are entirely settled on the boat.  Early Fourth of July fireworks are popping around us, and a very clear, midsummer sky is beginning to show stars. Tomorrow we will celebrate Independence Day as sailors who have slipped the lines.